


Accompany Me

by HerBrazenElegance



Series: Settle For Side Stories [1]
Category: DRAMAtical Murder - All Media Types
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-02
Updated: 2015-01-02
Packaged: 2018-03-04 22:15:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3092903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HerBrazenElegance/pseuds/HerBrazenElegance
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Aoba and Ren hold a short discussion about love.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Accompany Me

**Author's Note:**

> This could have technically been included in the main story I guess, but because this is more from Aoba's perspective and doesn't have a lot of plot-related detail, I wanted to keep it separate. SFSB is very Koujaku-centric after all.

Wind taps softly at the windows and kicks up fresh powder that was laid down the night before, the kind that melts with the afternoon sun but always came back again by evening. Fire crackles loudly inside a wood stove radiating heat throughout the spacious living area that had been chilled due to late November air. In the kitchen, a simple wall clock ticks distantly, and save for these sounds, all is silent as it should be.

Aoba twists his Coil around his wrist several times, deep in thought, before taking it off and laying it on the coffee table in front of him. He slumps into the couch and sighs deeply.

“Are you alright, Aoba?” His ever concerned companion asks.

He doesn't answer. Instead, he pulls a blanket down that normally rests over the back of the sofa and wraps it around his shoulders. Having just woken up, he rubs sleep from the corners of his eyes. He keeps his words to himself for so long that he wonders if Ren will warn him that he's pushing it and thinking too much, but no such warning comes from the Allmate. He, too, is silent and fine enough stretching out at Aoba's feet if he won't say anything.

It was something of a habit they picked up from even the short time having already been spent with Mink, the questions that go unanswered and statements not responded to – not out of rudeness or lack of sociability, but simply because it isn't Mink's way. Many questions could be answered without speaking, thoughts could be relayed with other expressions, and Mink could show Aoba tasks instead of telling him how to do them. Words had power if you gave it to them – Aoba knew that better than anyone by now – and it was often energy not worth wasting.

So when he finally opens up to Ren about the troubles on his mind, the Allmate listens intently.

“I feel bad, Ren. I know there isn't really anything I can do about it, but... Koujaku cares a lot for me, doesn't he?”

“He's your childhood friend. Of course he cares for you.”

“Yeah, but...” He trails off, chewing his lip. “Somehow I worry that he might care a little more than I expected.”

“How do you mean?”

“I mean,” Aoba starts, but he hesitates for the right words to say. “I wonder if maybe... Maybe he wanted something more from me back in Midorijima. When, before I left, I told him about being curious about Mink and wanting to find him, he would always look so hurt. Sometimes when we hung out, just the two of us, he always looked like there was something he wanted to say, but he would end up just smiling and talking about something casual. I hated that strained atmosphere it made. And that call a long time ago, when he saw Mink kiss me...”

“Do you think he has feelings for you, then?”

Hearing it from someone else's mouth is strange, and Aoba becomes flustered when he agrees with Ren. “I might be overthinking. Who knows. He may have just been concerned with me admitting that I wanted to leave and go looking for Mink, which is... Well, that's why I didn't tell anyone except Granny when I left. And even she didn't seem to approve.”

“Yes. But you found Mink, and you're happy now, right?”

“Of course. Still, I can't help but wonder about Koujaku. Even if it isn't romantic feelings, he is still concerned for me, and I worry about whether I hurt him or not by leaving.”

“You may have,” Ren says honestly. “Many people care about you, and they are all likely sad that you left. But if you have found what you were looking for, then that should be good enough for them, right?”

“I guess you're right,” Aoba concedes. “It's not like I can leave Mink after everything we went through. Anyway, this is probably a boring subject for you. I guess you wouldn't really know about jealousy or anything, would you?” Aoba laughs to himself.

Outside, the wind picks up and rattles the windows threateningly, whistling loudly through the bare trees. Unyielding, the cabin groans against the relentless gust and endures until it calms down again.

“No,” Ren finally responds. “Most Allmates aren't programmed for those kinds of feelings.”

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this because Ren is my child and I like to hurt myself.


End file.
